Patient/Survivor/Caregiver Reviewer Program

The CCS Patient/Survivor/Caregiver (PSC) reviewer program engages people affected by cancer to review research grant proposals.  By engaging patients, survivors, thrivers, caregivers, and families, we can make sure people affected by cancer shape the way that research funding and funding decisions are made.  Your input can help us make more equitable, relevant decisions in research funding.  

• Take part in (on-line) training, learning and onboarding. This is to help you feel prepared and confident to participate and to learn about our research review and funding processes. We will continue to support you throughout the review process.
• Review research proposals and provide brief written reports on the proposals. You will be provided with guides and resources to help you review and make decisions on research proposals. You will provide feedback on aspects of the scientific merit, relevance and potential impact of the research proposals to people affected by cancer, to help assess the research.
• As part of the review, you will participate in a panel review meeting (currently being hosted virtually). This is a group meeting of all reviewers to discuss research proposals. You will be asked to share your assessment of the proposals you reviewed and to score proposals. The application submission and review process is managed through the CCS online grants system (EGrAMS). You would need access to technology (i.e., computer access and internet connection) to use the online grants management platform. We will make every effort to support you prior to and during the review process with technical support, information, training and accommodation^*.
• We offer compensation for engagement work to help make participation more equitable and diverse, to recognize expertise and contribution, and to remove barriers to participation. To learn more about our Patient Partner Compensation Policy, click here.
• If you’d like to learn more about patient partnership in research funding at CCS, click here

^*We may be able to support technology set-up, hold individual meetings to answer questions or clarify information and provide technical support throughout the review process and panel meeting, as some examples of accommodation to help you participate fully.  CCS is also committed to national representation in its reviewer panels. As such, CCS can provide training materials in French and encourages participation of individuals who are French-speaking. While the panel meeting is conducted only in English, CCS recognizes the importance of French-language speakers and may be able to provide bilingual support during meetings.

We are always looking for Patient / Survivor / Caregiver Reviewers. Even if you don’t see a specific opportunity, we encourage you to apply so that we can get to know you and match you to an opportunity as soon as it becomes available.